Investing in technology that demonstrably strengthens your operations

You see opportunities in automation and AI, but which investment truly moves your operation forward? A new system can simplify work, but it can also add extra data entry, integrations, and dependencies. The right choice does not begin with a vendor's demonstration, but with a specific bottleneck and a well-founded expectation of the return.

In this fourth article of 'Building a Strong Supply Chain', the investment decision takes center stage. Whereas the previous article focused on reliable information, this piece addresses the question of when technology adds sufficient value to justify development, implementation, and maintenance.

1. Describe the problem before comparing solutions

How often does the problem occur, how much time or money does it cost, and what impact does the customer notice? Distinguish between a missing process agreement and functionality that is genuinely required. If employees are entering the same data twice, a better setup of existing software might be sufficient. New technology is one possible solution, not the starting point.

2. Also consider the simple alternatives

Alongside a new system, assess process adjustments, better utilization of existing capabilities, and limited integrations. Compare the options on usability, integration, maintenance, security, and the ability to modify or switch later. For AI, it is also crucial whether outputs are reliable enough and how employees recognize and correct errors.

3. Calculate the total investment

Include more than just licensing or development costs. Consider data preparation, integrations, testing, training, temporary productivity drops, and recurring maintenance. When calculating benefits, distinguish between freed-up time and actual reduced expenses: saved minutes do not automatically equal financial savings. They can, however, create capacity for additional volume or improved service.

Work with scenarios when usage, volumes, or returns are uncertain. State assumptions explicitly and do not calculate based solely on the best-case outcome. A business case should guide decision-making, not retroactively justify a preferred solution.

Illustrative example: reducing manual order entry

Suppose employees retype customer orders from documents. A pilot can investigate whether automated recognition correctly processes enough lines and how much manual verification remains necessary. Therefore, do not only measure automated processing, but also correction time, errors, and exceptions. This is an illustrative example; no results or savings are assumed.

4. Test on the shop floor and establish ownership

Choose a scoped pilot with representative orders, including complex exceptions. Define in advance what constitutes success and when to stop or adjust course. Involve the employees who will be working with it, and determine who will be responsible for maintenance, user queries, and incidents after implementation.

Only scale up once the impact has been sufficiently proven and operations can work with it effectively. Also ensure a fallback procedure is in place if the solution is temporarily unavailable. Technology only delivers lasting value when its use and maintenance become part of daily practice.

Your first step

Select one recurring task with clear volumes and measurable impacts. Investigate the root cause, compare alternatives, and validate the key assumptions before making a major investment. N&J Connect combines logistical expertise with specialized IT knowledge to evaluate opportunities and deliver suitable solutions.